The future is not something that happens to us

News

Of all the ideas put forward by Karl Marx one that has always resonated with me is his view that people are 'authors' of their society yet have forgotten their authorship. In one sense this is unexceptional. Not everyone has the time, opportunity or breadth of mind to appreciate the social construct... Read More

The rescue of twelve boys and their football coach from deep within a flooded cave in Thailand provided welcome relief from the usual run of distressing news. On this occasion almost everything went right. The one exception was the death of a courageous Thai soldier who ran out of oxygen while distr... Read More

Most people will recall having one of those brief moments from time to time when an unexpected insight suddenly appears and the world changes. It happened recently when I read an obituary for Joy Lofthouse who'd passed away in the UK at age 94. Back in 1943, when she was working as a 20-year-old ban... Read More

Many people seem to think that tackling the big issues of the IT revolution is a demanding occupation requiring considerable expertise. While there's some truth in this view, it does not mean that individuals are helpless - far from it. Throughout history oppressive systems of any kind survived only... Read More

Scanning the macro environment for signals of change can be a daunting experience. But when links that imply a particular pattern keep getting stronger, or more frequently expressed, you know that something is happening that may require closer attention. Over the last few years, for example, evidenc... Read More

It's not surprising that since Brexit and the US election many people around the world have felt subjected to a continuing flood of bad news. Hardly a day passes without some new threat or disappointment all of which occur against the backdrop of random acts of terror, the flight of millions from th... Read More